The European Union (EU), will in June this year, launch a €20 million project to help provide skills training to empower the youth.

The project is to help the youth to engage in viable economic activities in their respective local communities.

Ms Diana Acconcia, Head of European Union (EU) Delegation in Ghana, said the aim was to equip the people with employable and managerial skills that would offer them decent jobs locally, to stem illegal migration to Europe.

“The best way to prevent the adventurous youth from risking their lives in such journeys, ostensibly to find greener pastures in Europe, was to help offer better economic opportunities by empowering them to earn a decent living at home”, she told journalists in Kumasi.

Ms Acconcia was in Kumasi to meet key stakeholders in the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP), which was being implemented in Ghana with funding from the EU.

She said as part of preparation towards the launch of the project, the EU delegation would be visiting migrants who had returned from countries such as Libya and see how they could be assisted to integrate into society.

“The EU has been working hard to provide education and vocational training for some youths in Ghana and is also offering support to boost the competitiveness of small businesses, particularly in the agribusiness sector”, she added.

Highlighting on the ARAP, she said it was a commitment of the EU to build the capacities of civic education providers such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the media.

It is aimed among others to create awareness and lobby for increased accountability, in order to reduce corruption in Ghana.